Google Photos is a fantastic style to come across your photos and the powerful search makes information technology easy to observe pictures of certain people, places or times. Before 1 June 2021, Google did offer unlimited free storage for photos. At present, things have inverse.

Yous simply go 15GB of Google storage in total, which counts files on your Google Drive and Gmail, every bit well as Google Photos. Therefore, if yous lot want to upload more than than photos and videos that will accept your limit by 15GB, you lot'll demand to purchase more than storage with Google I.

There'due due south iv tiers of storage currently on Google One. These are:

  • 15 GB - Free
  • 100 GB - £i.59 per calendar month/£15.99 per yr
  • 200 GB - £2.49 per month/£24.99 per year
  • 2 TB - £seven.99 per calendar month/£79.99 per yr

Sadly, no unlimited storage option is currently available. Y'all'll have to await at other Cloud storage options if y'all desire that. You can besides make more than room for photos and video past immigration out big files on your Google Drive.

At that place'south no demand to worry well-nigh existing files from before one June, equally these photos volition remain on Google'southward servers and won't exist deleted or blocked if y'all don't pay - that'southward a common misconception.

If, like me, y'all accept a photo library total of pictures you lot took prior to owning a smartphone, chances are they're sat on a hard bulldoze somewhere. Google hasn't made it like shooting fish in a barrel to upload them, but here's are 2 means to upload every single photograph, one of which is automatic.

Upload to Google Photos via a web browser

Before I go to the all-time manner, hither'due south the obvious way: caput to photos.google.com and click on Upload.

How to upload to Google Photos from Windows

Unfortunately, the easy manner won't work for nearly people because the Upload pick in Google Photos will only upload the contents of a single folder.

Most people go on their photos in multiple folders and then they have 'albums' for different occasions. Unless y'all're willing to become through dozens or fifty-fifty hundreds of folders and copy – or motility – those photos into a single binder, you won't be able to use this option.

You could laboriously apply the Upload button for each folder you have only, over again, that's impractical if you lot lot have a hundred or more than.

TIP: Before yous upload all your photos, upload one or two and check that Google Photos can correctly place when they were taken. Otherwise, you'll accept a tough quaternary dimension finding them once more.

One time uploaded, you lot lot should be able to enter the date it was taken, such as '22 May 2000' and all photos from that date should be shown. If not, search for the exact filename of the photograph yous merely uploaded, and Google Photos should show information technology. Click the i symbol at the peak and you'll encounter the info for that photo.

How to upload to Google Photos

If in that location is a trouble and the 'date taken' isn't identified correctly, you'll demand to apply a tool to edit this metadata.

In one example you lot've hitting the limit of what yous tin upload, Google will inform you. If you demand more space, y'all can get a premium Google One business concern relationship.

Upload to Google Photos via Fill-in & Sync

And and so we come up up to the all-time option for uploading your whole photo library to Google Photos. It involves downloading Google's Backup & Sync utility, choosing a binder or folders to sync, then leaving information technology to upload the photos, as well as any videos in those folders.

If those folders happen to be on a NAS drive as mine were, you may find you cannot select the root folder in Backup & Sync. The workaround is to create a binder within that (call it upload or whatever yous like), and then motion all your folders of photos into that.

Here, step by footstep, is how to go about installing Backup & Sync and uploading all those snaps to Google Photos.

Annotation: this just works for Windows computers and you'd need to install the Google Photos app on Android or iPhone if you desire to upload the camera whorl from your phone. This guide is primarily aimed at those who've already done that and at present desire to upload photos stored on their Windows laptop or PC.

1. First, head to the Google Photos website https://photos.google.com/apps and click the Download push.

How to upload to Google Photos

ii. When the file is downloaded, click on information technology in your web browser, or navigate to the folder where downloaded files are stored – unremarkably Downloads. Double-click on the file (chosen installbackupandsync.exe) and click the GET STARTED push button.

How to upload to Google Photos

iii. You'll need to sign into your Google account, the ane y'all utilize for Google Photos.

iv. On the 'set-upwards' screen, choose Back up photos and videos.

How to upload to Google Photos

v. Side past side, y'all need to tell Fill-in & Sync which folders your photos are in. This could be as unproblematic every chip clicking the box adjacent to Pictures, merely if your photos are stored elsewhere, such every bit another folder on your hard drive, on an external drive or on a NAS drive, click Cull Binder and navigate to information technology.

How to upload to Google Photos

You lot can sync multiple folders, but you tin can't select multiple folders at the same fourth dimension.

six. Select the quality you want for your photo/video - Storage Saver takes upwardly less room, simply compresses the file. Meanwhile Original Quality will non compress the files, but volition have up more than than storage in your quota.

vii. Click Outset and Backup & Sync will begin uploading photos and videos in the folder(s) yous've chosen to Google Photos.

viii. If you lot want to check on progress, click the ^ symbol on the Windows Taskbar and click the niggling white cloud symbol. You'll run across a scrolling list of the files being uploaded.

How to upload to Google Photos

How long information technology will take to upload all your photos and videos will depend on the total corporeality of information to exist uploaded and the upload speed of your net connection, which is typically a lot slower than the download speed.

Exit your laptop or calculator on while information technology'south uploading the files. In my instance, with a 16Mbps upload speed, information technology took effectually 24 hours to upload thirty,000 photos and videos from hundreds of folders on a NAS drive.

One time once more, the corporeality you lot'll be able to upload will depend on the amount of storage y'all lot have in your Google One business relationship.

Related manufactures for further reading

  • Best alternatives to Google Photos
  • What to do when Google Photos gratuitous storage ends
  • How to download all your photos from Google Photos in 1 get